Collective Bargaining is a Right

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects the rights of employees to engage in “concerted activity”, which is when two or more employees take action for their mutual aid or protection regarding terms and conditions of employment.

The NLRB is an independent federal agency enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, which guarantees the right of most private sector employees to organize, to engage in group efforts to improve their wages and working conditions, to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative, to engage in collective bargaining, and to refrain from any of these activities. It acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions.

Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.

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Good Jobs Provide Good Benefits

Represented stagehands receive benefits through Employer Contributions, typically above and beyond hourly wages. The IATSE National Benefit Funds are multi-employer, Taft-Hartley trust funds established by the IATSE through collective bargaining with various entertainment industry employers. Generally, funding comes from contributing employers that are engaged in industries such as live theatre, motion picture, television, commercials, music videos, and trade shows and that have Collective Bargaining Agreements with IATSE or an affiliated local union. The Funds are governed by Boards of Trustees made up of an equal number of representatives of the IATSE (labor) and the employers (management). The IATSE National Benefit Funds include the Pension, Annuity, Health & Welfare, and Vacation Funds. Employees and employers participate in one or more Funds, depending on the terms of their Collective Bargaining Agreement. What makes multi-employer benefit funds so appealin...

HOW A UNION WORKS

What is a Union? A union is a democratic organization of a majority of the employees in a facility or venue. The basic idea of a union is that by joining together with fellow employees to form a union, workers have a greater ability to improve conditions at the work site. In other words, in unity there is strength. Who runs the union? You run your own union. You elect your own negotiating committee and prepare your own list of improvements for a union contract. You elect your own officers. The union is not "outsiders," it is you, the worker. What benefits can the union guarantee? The Union can only guarantee one thing; with the support, strength, and unity of the workers, working together we will win the best wage and benefit package possible. The majority of IATSE Local 8 contracts do include employer contributions into Health and Welfare, Pension, Annuity, and Vacation funds. Will I lose the benefits I have now? No, it is against the law for the company...

A Letter from Local 8 President Barnes

To the Wilma Theater Stagehands, Welcome! The membership of the IATSE Local 8 look forward to you and your co-workers at the Wilma Theater joining the largest union of theatrical technicians in the United States and Canada. Many of your brother and sisters working in regional theater companies are already part of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Being part of a larger community makes everyone stronger, safer and better represented at our places of employment. To that end the IATSE Local 8 filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to recognize your union. In four weeks there will be an election and the opportunity to formally join other stage employees in community. Today of all days, we need this stagehand community. As the GOP attacks health care, we negotiate coverage in our contracts; as Republicans eliminate social security, we negotiate retirement plans; as Trump defunds OSHA and the NEA, we negotiate safety at our worksites and fi...

United Wilma Stagehands

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